Chapter 6: Devils and Demons

~ADELE~

I slept like a baby. I must say, I never slept like this, not for the last few years. It could be the change of room or my situation. Mike did not annoy me this morning, but I was about to face a new challenge.

I flapped my eyes and looked around. It feels like the room got bigger the last time I saw it. The morning lights sprinkled every part of this room and gave it an energetic look.

“Good morning to me,” I sighed. Thinking of last night, I was about to lose my virginity to my unknown husband. I touched my lips where I felt his presence the most. He felt like a hungry lion who wanted to eat me roughly. I gulped at the thought of his company with me. 

I fear how he would treat me the following nights. But I needed to discover a lot about him. I got up from my bed as my feet landed on the fluffy white rug underneath my feet. I enjoyed a moment rubbing my feet against this soft thing. Isn’t it strange we all do some childish thing in the middle of a stressful situation to relax our minds?

I stood, entered the bathroom, and did my morning business. Well, if my husband didn’t want to show himself to me, I was sure he would not come to me in daylight. Maybe he doesn’t care about me, or it could be something else.

But why did he tell me? That I am his redemption?

Coming to my closet, I dropped my bathrobe on the floor and wore a fresh pair of undergarments. I didn’t know who selected these clothes, but whoever knew every inch of my curves. I wore a simple yet elegant dress, which comes as my second skin. The short sleeves were comfortable in this hot weather. A tomato red dress complimented my flawless skin. I made a one-sided braid of my long chocolate brown hair and applied light makeup.

“Let’s explore the place, Adele,” I told myself, trying to forget last night. I wanted to call Blaise first, but the rumbling in my stomach reminded me I hadn’t had a bite since yesterday.

I opened the door and walked alone in the hallway. Once I reached the living room, I saw Maria giving instructions to others.

“Mam,” she bowed her head towards me.

“Good morning,” I looked around.

“Would you like to eat something? We were waiting for you, Mam,” Maria greeted me at this big table filled with many breakfast options. Maria filled my portion, and I was stunned looking at the table.

“No, no, I can’t eat that much,” I resisted. Maria smiled.

“Mam, Senor told us to take care of your health. Your iron count is low, and he wanted you to stay healthy.”

The information she gave startled me for a minute. I tested my blood a few months ago. Does that mean he dug out all the information about me?

“How in the world does your Senor know about my blood count?” 

She smiled and pushed the spoon into my mouth.

“He knows everything about you.” She answered.

“Yeah,” I whispered, knowing I knew nothing about him.

Why shouldn’t I be surprised about this?

He paid the debt, and now he is officially my husband. The most surprising thing was I didn’t know his name, but he knew everything about me.

After finishing breakfast alone in that big dining room, I thought about roaming around.

“Are you Senor at home?” I asked my last question.

Maria smiled and shrugged.

“Well, no worries.” I knew she was not supposed to talk about him. I stood near the main door about to go out into the garden, when I saw Mr. Vincent talking to some people.

I stood quietly looking at them and realized the men he was talking to were the same. They threatened me at my house. What the heck are they doing here? And why is Mr. Vincent giving them money?

It lost me looking and observing their action when somebody called me. “Boohoo!!!”

I jumped to my place. “What the hell, Angelo? You scared the life out of me.” I grabbed my beating heart to my chest.

He was shirtless, holding something in his hand laughing at me.

“Are you ok? I didn’t mean to scare you, but..., look at your face,” he laughed.

“Shut up; you scared me badly,” I answered.

“What are you doing here? Detective,” 

“Nothing, just trying to get adjusted to this new place. I am getting bored.” I rolled my eyes.

“Well, you should be with the Senor. Newly married couple.” he wiggled his brow at me.

With his invisible senor? Seriously?

“Ok, come with me. I will show you our nursery and greenhouse.” 

“Wow, that sounds interesting. I am eager to see it,’ I jumped with excitement.

He extended his hand toward me.

“I knew you are a florist, and I am a gardener. We make a good team,” he winked at me.

We went through the garden, where he showed me all the beautiful flower beds he used to maintain.

“Wow, this is beautiful. Angelo,”

“You liked it? Then I must show you Senor’s favorite place.”

He took me near a still water body under a gigantic tree spreading its shadow.

“Wow, it’s calm.. peaceful,”

The environment was so soothing. You could feel the birds chirping and the comforting water sound.

I closed my eyes as I was ready to take everything in.

“You have a beautiful smile, mam,” He whispered, looking at me.

“Thank you, and it’s not mam; It’s Adele,” I replied, making my eyes big.

“You know I can’t.” he raised a brow.

“You can; we are alone here. And I am not habitual of that much respect, Angelo,” I mustered a smile.

He smiled at me. The morning sun and the lights on his silhouette shifted my eyes from his face towards his body.

“You know, Senor loves to come here alone. He likes to sit here alone, talking to...”

He caught me looking at his chest as my eyes traveled from his chest to his packed body.

“Adele,”

“Sorry,” I looked away.

“You should wear some clothes,” I turned to the other side.

“Sure,” I could feel he was giggling behind my back.

He took off the hanging t-shirt from his waistband.

We walked towards the greenhouse.

“It’s huge,” I said without looking at the pothole in front of me.

“Watch out,” Angelo tried to grab me, but we fell in that puddle, making my ankle twist.

“Ahhhhhh,” I screamed.

“Are you ok, Adele?” He pulled me out from the mud.

He made me sit on the bench and wash my feet.

“Let me check,”

He grabbed my feet and kept them on his lap.

Softly, rubbing it to make me feel comfortable, looking towards me.

“I am sorry, Adele,” I could see the fear in his eyes.

“It’s ok, I am fine. It’s just a sprain, Angelo,”

But he was continuously rubbing my feet.

“I should inform Mr. Vincent,” he said.

“It’s ok; I think I can walk back to the mansion,” I replied.

We talked when Mr. Vincent coughed, looking at our improper posture where his hand was on my feet, and my hand was on his shoulder.

“What the hell are you doing?” He rasped on Angelo.

He lowered his gaze.

“Mr. Vincent, it’s my mistake. I didn’t see the puddle in front of me.” I tried to interrupt.

“Let’s go,” he growled, looking at Angelo.

I tried to stand up but fell on Angelo’s chest.

“I am sorry,” I said.

His eyes were upset, looking at me like this.

“I am sorry, it’s all my fault,” he whispered, helping me to stand.

I wanted to stay next to him, but I knew I couldn’t.

“You must go, mam; Senor is watching us,” he looked towards the window.

“What?” I turned and tried to figure out where I could see his face.

Alas! he was not there.

I walked back to my room and cleaned myself, thinking about Angelo. His eyes carried some pain. I was sure he was stuck here like me.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed.

“Adele, your brother,” Blaise cried.

Wasting no time, I ran down with my limping leg.

I thought of asking Mr. Vincent and looked for help, but nobody was there for me.

I took the car keys and drove towards my shop, thinking what he does now?

Did he murder someone? Stole something?

I didn’t know when I would reach the shop.

“Blaise, what happened?” She was crying in Elijah’s arms.

“Adele, your brother came here. He wanted money...” Blaise informed. I cupped my mouth, looking down at her bleeding lip.

“Did he hit you?”

She nodded in silence. What worse could I think of from him? The only solution I could think of was,

Mr. Vincent promised me the money, and I saw him giving the money to those goons this morning.

“Adele, are you ok?” Elijah came to me.

I was not well, not now at least.

“I am, thank you,”

We hugged each other. I felt relief in protective arms. Just when I extended my arms to show my concern towards Blaise.

Suddenly, the door busted open. Mr. Vincent entered the room.

“Mr. Vincent,” I wanted to ask him about the money he promised, but he didn’t stop. His man literally pulled me into their arms and dragged me out of the shop.

“Leave me,” I screamed.

“You were told...,” he replied, looking at me with red eyes.

Elijah tried to fight with him, but he took off his gun and rested it on his forehead.

“I am here to take what belongs to my Senor. You better stay away from me, boy. Otherwise, I will have to kill you and your sister.”

Mr. Vincent shrieked in his confident voice.

Elijah backed off, looking at my fearful face.

They brought me back to the mansion.

“I asked you to help my brother,” I screamed, coming out of the car.

“And I did,” Mr. Vincent barked at me.

“Now, go to your room. You broke his rule, and I don’t want you to face his punishment.” He whispered near my ears.

I jerked back, numbed in my senses, and unknowingly broke one of his rules. I didn’t think about leaving this place.

It was mentioned in the contract I had to take Mr. Vincent or any bodyguard with me. But I ran alone.

I went to my room and settled quietly, waiting for him to come, but it occupied my mind with Blaise and Elijah and where I could find my worthless brother.

It’s midnight, and I intentionally kept the lights on.

I changed my clothes to my silk nighty as I was sleepy.

“I think he will not come. Or maybe he is not in the mansion. Mr. Vincent was scaring me.” I talked to myself.

I got up to grab my phone, then suddenly the lights went off. My heart stopped for a moment. It felt like the devil has entered the room. I took deep breaths, as I knew he was watching me somewhere.

My hands were shaking when I felt his warm breath on my neck.

I gulped the lump in my throat when his finger pad trailed from my bare hand.

“Where have you been? MY FLOWER,” he husked in my ears.

I closed my eyes as I was scared as hell.

“I.. I...” I could feel the knots churning inside my belly, the cold blood running down my veins.

“I went to see Blaise. My brother tried to rob my shop for money.” it would be better to confess the truth.

He pushed his broad chest at my back, making my body sandwich between the wall and him.

“Didn’t you know I will take care of everything?” He smoked in my ears, pressing me harder.

“You broke the rule,”

He was grinding my earlobe between his teeth, giving me enough pain to realize I had made a mistake, while his hardness pushed me differently.

His hand cupped my curves, telling me a different story. But what’s important here was I broke the rule.

“I am sorry. I will not do it again; I was worried about Blaise,” I gasped.

“When your husband is the devil, do you need to worry about the demons?”

He needed my submission, not with my words, but with my actions. His finger pads reached the lower layer of my navel, making a circle.

“Are you going to break my rules again?” his words were different while his finger crossed my liners and reached to my vertical lips, pinching my flower bud.

I bit my lips harder. What should I say? While my body was acting under his influence, he was asking me for an impossible thing.

His middle finger rubbed against the soft skin, making me jump while his thumb kept a hold of my clitoris. My toes curled inside, my hand turned into a fist.

“Answer me, Adele,”

My focus was more on his finger, making the figure eight inside me, teasing me in every way.

“No,” I speculated, throwing my head back on his chest, spreading my legs, giving him more access to complete his action.

“Good, my flower,” just when I was about to reach my apex, he pulled his hand out.

Frustrated would be the last word for me to describe my feelings. He was playing every part of me: my life, my soul, my body, my emotion.

I turned toward him to retaliate, but before I speak a word, his question startled me

“Now tell me, what about you and Angelo?”